News

Iran war hits Asia\'s polyester suppliers to global fast fashion

A surge in fossil fuel prices since the Iran war is squeezing polyester suppliers and garment makers across India and Bangladesh, threatening to raise costs for fast-fashion retailers like Zara and H&M. Filatex, one of India’s biggest polyester yarn producers, ​is paying nearly 30% more for the petroleum-derived feedstocks - purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) - that

Selling persists at bourse, KSE-100 down over 900 points in early trade

Selling pressure continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 900 points during the opening minutes of trading on Thursday. At 10:14am, the benchmark index was hovering at 170,636.86, down by 942.44 points or 0.55%. Selling pressure was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration compa

Sitara Petroleum launches IPO to raise up to Rs4.8bn

Sitara Petroleum Service Limited (SPSL), a Lahore-based fuel trader, has announced its Initial Public Offering (IPO), seeking to raise up to Rs4.8 billion (USD17.2 million) to finance expansion in its fuel retail network, logistics operations and storage infrastructure, according to its IPO prospectus. As per details, the company, engaged in distribution and retail, along with petroleum logisti

Asian shares track Wall Street to record highs but higher oil prices a risk

Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Thursday, led by record highs in Japan, South Korea ‌and Taiwan, as investors shrugged off higher oil prices from more shipping woes in the Gulf and focused on strong corporate earnings. Overnight, the S&P 500 climbed 1% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.6% to close at new record highs, helped by a strong start to earnings ​season that has eased concerns about t

PTA takes action against digital content involving illegal therapeutic goods sale

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) came in action against illegal sale of therapeutic goods via websites and social media pages and got the content removed, according to a press statement issued by the authority on Wednesday. The therapeutic goods may be including medicines, medical devices, and vaccines, it was learnt. PTA said in the statement that it initiated action against w